Gina Horkey’s 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success: Review

We review ebooks, courses and tools for writers, so you can make good decisions about how to invest in your writing career.

Course:

About the creator: Gina Horkey has been a writer for the web since 2010. She is best known for her website, . A former contributor to The Write Life, she has built her focus around her background in finance and helping other freelancers succeed.

Price: $59

Who It’s For: Brand-spankin’ new freelance writers who want to earn a comfortable living as successful webpreneurs.

What It Will Help You Do: The course is a complete manual that contains everything you need to know to become a successful freelance writer.

What’s Included: The email course consists of 32 self-paced lessons covering everything from how to choose a niche, how to bootstrap your business with little to no money, how to draft a pitch, and even how to handle the accounting aspects of your online venture.

In addition, there are more than 70 exercises to help you practice everything you learn. Horkey follows up within days of your completion to track your progress and offer help.

The Best Part: I my way through the course. Doing this forced me to do each and every single one of the exercises.

For example, lesson 22 is all about building an effective “Hire Me” page. As a bootstrapper, I was nervous. I had a very basic web page on WordPress and couldn’t afford to upgrade. So, I improvised and learned all about coding in WordPress. I won’t call myself an expert, but I’m much better than before — something I can now offer as a service to prospective clients.

Writers sometimes feel boxed in by their circumstances. It really came down to whether I was going to do what I said I would accomplish. Integrity is everything in this business. So, I opened up my mind to what was possible. I stopped limiting myself.

What Would Make It Even Better: There were instances where I didn’t feel like I received enough direction. One occasion was early on, in lesson three: “Surround Yourself With Support.” In this lesson, Horkey outlines various ways to build a foundation of supportive people to hold you accountable and keep you on track.

She mentioned that joining a mastermind group was a good way to network with other freelancers and find an accountability partner. I had never heard the word. I Googled, but didn’t really get anywhere. From the context, I incorrectly guessed that it must be some other social media platform.

I eventually asked Horkey, and she cleared it right up! (A mastermind group is a group of like-minded individuals who meet up regularly in person or via Skype or Google Hangouts.)

How It Changed My Life: Blogging my way through the course was the best thing I could’ve done for myself. It was blogging for accountability. Whatever happened, I knew I had readers depending on me to provide them with feedback.

With $59, I started a business, and it has already turned a profit. Horkey basically held my hand and walked me through the path she took to get to where she is.

Our Recommendation: Having walked the walk and written about it it’s a no brainer. I recouped my initial investment within days of sending out my very first pitch.

Going through the course is like going through Horkey’s website in a neat and organized manner, with all of the information tied into a neat, little bow. Overall, it’s worth the money.

Anyone looking to improve their financial situation with freelance writing should try this course.

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Cruz Santana is a single mother of seven, a , and an in San Antonio, Texas with a background in science and medicine. A ghostwriter since 2007, she recently switched her focus to writing for the Web, a journey she chronicles in the blog, .

Great review! I’ve done this course and I agree with everything you said. I can relate to the mastermind group bit being a bit puzzling and I had to look it up. It is a very inspiring course though. I had a look at your blog about the course too and it’s so good I’ve signed up to hear about more of your posts ?

Thanks, Wendy! Building the blog was a labor of love in a sense. I aimed to be as honest as possible with my journey. Hopefully folks who are struggling. It can be tough to make substantial changes to our lives when we don’t have any direction or help. I hope the blog helps answer some questions for new and potential students.

I have taken Gina’s course, and I 100% recommend it. Writers often struggle with confidence and putting themselves out there, and it was the only thing on the web that made me feel like I could really do it, and I’m finding a lot of success a few months in! Great review, Cruz, and I’m excited to see you on the Write Life site! Such a great resource 🙂

Thank you for that Audra! I loved the course. There’s nothing out there like it. You’re absolutely right!

I’m thrilled to be featured in The Write Life! For years this site has been my go-to information hub for all things related to freelance work. And now that I’m IN it, there’s just no feeling like it! It is a great resource. I can’t wait until they let me contribute again! ?

Hi, Teddy!! Thank you for your comment and support. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Please consider sharing it. My aim in all of this is to help people who need to make a change in their lives but don’t have a direction in which to go. It helped me incredibly. I’d love to see that for others.

I JUST signed up for Gina’s course (about 2 hours ago, in fact). I could not be more excited. Reading this review has made me feel phenomenal about my decision. I really hope I can be a successful, paid writer by the end of the 30-day lessons. Thank you for writing this review 🙂

CC, that’s fantastic! I’m thrilled! I blogged my way through it in November. I absolutely loved it. Check out the blog if you’d like some more information. In it, I dive into each day and ways you can get the absolute most out of each lesson. Reach out on social media. All of Gina’s students are very supportive of one another. We have a Facebook group you can join right away for additional support.

Thank you for your comment! I wish your prosperity and lots of success!